We are passionate about the services that we provide and meeting our clients where they are to ensure that they are able to meet their needs. Our Self-Sufficiency Coordinator, Katie Roberts, was able to meet the needs of one client when no one else was. Shawna Wilson is a deaf client who had been unable to find a service provider to communicate with in over 20 years. She had previously worked with other social services only communicating through text. That is until Katie was referred to her case by Perry Human Services because she had mentioned that she knew ASL.
Katie has deaf family members so growing up she learned ASL at the same time that she was learning English. Katie never imagined that knowing ASL would have such an impact on one of her clients. When Katie first met with Shawna and began communicating with her using ASL, Shawna’s face lit up. This was one of the first people she had met in her rural community in which she could easily communicate.
Katie and Shawna have set many goals to achieve since they began working together in early September. Their first goal is to install safety systems in Shawna’s home such as vibration fire alarms and visual doorbells. Once Shawna's safety concerns are met, they also hope to get her established with a family doctor, an ENT, an Audiologist, and more, to make sure that she is healthy. They are also working on getting her hearing aids to improve her quality of life further.
After her physical health goals are met, Katie and Shawna want to find a community for her to meet other people, particularly members of the Deaf community. She enjoys creating art, so she wants to find a job working in an arts and crafts store where she will also be able to communicate with others.
Katie’s work with Shawna has just started and they have already made so much progress. As she continues to connect Shawna with resources and provide her guidance, we hope that she continues to move closer to self-sufficiency. This story is one of many that demonstrates just how our services can reach clients who had nowhere else to turn.
